The Defence Services Secretary is a senior member of the Royal Household of the

Sovereign of the United Kingdom The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with their powers regulated by the British cons ...

Responsibilities

The Defence Services Secretary is the senior member of the Royal Household responsible for liaison between the Sovereign and the

British Armed Forces The British Armed Forces are the unified military, military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its British Overseas Territories, Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests ...

. They are answerable to the

Secretary of State for Defence The secretary of state for defence, also known as the defence secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Ministry of Defence. As a senior minister, the incumbent is a member of the ...

and the Chief of Defence Staff for tri-service appointments, national ceremonial events and honours, decorations, awards and medals. From 1992 the Defence Services Secretary has been double-hatted with a second

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

role, generally that of Assistant Chief of Defence Staff (Personnel).

List of Defence Services Secretaries

Defence Services Secretaries have been: *

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Sir Rodney Moore, 1964–1966 *

Vice Admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

Sir Ian Hogg, 1966–1967 *

Air Vice-Marshal Air vice-marshal (Air Vce Mshl or AVM) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometime ...

Sir Alan Boxer, 1967–1970 * Major General Sir Chandos Blair, 1970–1972 *

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

Sir Ronald Forrest, 1972–1975 *Air Vice-Marshal Sir Brian Stanbridge, 1975–1979 *Rear Admiral Sir Leslie Townsend, 1979–1982 *Major General Sir Michael Palmer, 1982–1985 *Air Vice-Marshal Sir

Richard Peirse Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Edmund Charles Peirse, (30 September 1892 – 5 August 1970), served as a senior Royal Air Force commander. RAF career The son of Admiral Sir Richard Peirse and his wife Blanche Melville Wemyss-Whittaker, Richard ...

, 1985–1988 *Rear Admiral Sir David Allen, 1988–1991 *Major General Brian Pennicott, 1991–1994 (Assistant Chief of Defence Staff (Personnel and Reserves) from 1992) *Air Vice-Marshal Peter Harding, 1994–1998 *Rear Admiral Rodney Lees, 1998–2001 (Assistant Chief of Defence Staff (Personnel and Reserves) as secondary post) *Major General Christopher Elliot, 2001–2004 (Director General, Reserve Forces and Cadets as secondary post) *Air Vice-Marshal David Pocock, 2004–2005 (Assistant Chief of Defence Staff (Personnel and Reserves) as secondary post) *Rear Admiral Peter Wilkinson, 2005–2007 (Assistant Chief of Defence Staff (Personnel and Reserves) as secondary post) *Major General Matthew Sykes, 2007–2010 *Air Vice-Marshal David Murray, 2010–2012 *Rear Admiral Simon Williams, 2012–2015 (Assistant Chief of Defence Staff (Personnel and Reserves) as secondary post) *Major-General Richard Nugee, 2015–2016 (Assistant Chief of Defence Staff (Personnel and Reserves) as secondary post) *Air Vice-Marshal Garry Tunnicliffe, 2016–2019 (Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (Personnel Capability) as secondary post) *Rear Admiral James Macleod, 2019-2022 (Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (Personnel Capability) as secondary post)Queen Elizabeth II makes first appearance since Prince Charles's COVID diagnosis
ABC/

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

, 2022-02-16 *Major General Eldon Millar, 2022–2024 (Assistant Chief of Defence Staff (People Capability) as secondary post) *Major General Lisa Keetley 2024–present (Assistant Chief of Defence Staff (People Capability) as secondary post)

References

{{British Monarchy Household Positions within the British Royal Household British military appointments